Design
We offer residential, farm, commercial, and community designs based in permaculture.
When we make the commitment to live in a place, we make a huge investment of money, time, energy, and our own vision of what we are trying to accomplish.
The permaculture design process can help you:
- Know what is possible on your property and what is likely to help you thrive
- Place elements (compost systems, pathways, water tanks, fruit trees, etc…) in the best relationships in order to minimize your efforts and get better returns on your investment
- Organize valuable inside space and retrofit your buildings for energy efficiency
- Understand and adapt to a more resilient lifestyle that meets your real needs
- Develop a site over time–adapting an original design based on feedback.
Having a design in place allows you to implement the design over time; knowing that you will be creating a regenerative system. Our aim is to save you time, money, and challenges along the way.
Who do we design for?
How do we work?
While we can work at an hourly rate, we prefer to work in stages of design process, where each stage builds upon the next. You can ask us to complete one stage or bundle them for a complete design for savings.
When do we work?
We have limited availability for full designs each year, so please let us know that you are interested. Also, sometimes, a consultation is just what you need.
Use Permaculture Design to increase your resilience.
Using intelligent design can help you make wiser investments of your time and resources in your home, farm, or commercial site.
Residential Design Work
Most of our design work is with residential sites of 1/4 - 2 acres and with small farms of 5-25 acres.
Observation and Analysis Report
Deliverables: base map, observation, and analysis of property and project –identifying significant flows, problems, and opportunities. Sometimes you just need us to come out and help you see what is there.
Conceptual Design Report
This comes after the Observation and Analysis Report. Provides a conceptual design (maps and report of possible solutions) based on an analysis. The aim of this report is to begin to develop concepts which match the needs of the landscape with the people in the landscape and their aims.
Detail Design
Deliverables: detailed design map with report developing approved conceptual design, including specific recommendations, implementation timeline, approximate budget, resources for implementation and guidelines.
Commercial Design
Schools, churches, businesses, and other commercial sites have unique needs, limits, and opportunities. The presence of people on-site for only a portion of the day, changes how energy is used, landscapes are cared for, etc…. Sheltering Hills Design seeks to design these spaces to match highest ecological and social benefits while matching practical needs for the users of the space. If you are working with a group and would like to incorporate permaculture on a commercial property or community-level, please contact us.
We often use an initial hour-long consultation to see if we are a good match for your needs. If it seems to be so, we can offer the right design package proposal for your aims.
Consults
Sometimes, just talking to someone about your idea is just what you need to get you through a challenge and on to the other side. Whether you want to try something new with gardening, plant your first fruit trees, or solve an energy or water problem on your site, a permaculture design consultation can be helpful.
We love to work with people in this way--meeting you just where you are. After a lifetime of gardening, foraging, studying, and making, our team is happy to use that experience to your benefit. Our aim is to save you much more time, energy, mistakes, and money than the cost of our time--and we are confident we can.
What
We work both in-person (ideal) and online. Before our time together, we will ask you some questions about what your aims are and the current situation. After our time together, we will draw up a quick concept map or illustration of what we covered and any recommendations that came out of it.
How
Fill out the contact form below and we will send you some questions and set a time to connect.
Rates
Our current rates are $100/hour. Most consults are 1-2 hours/session.